The Open Door
Synopsis An unidentified man is found badly injured by the roadside near Aidensfield and PC Mason thinks he was assaulted. A complaint about a van blocking the way in Back Lane leads not only to the identity of the unknown man, but also to a load of condemned meat which has now disappeared. And soon they have the first case of salmonella poisoning. Aunt Peggy is asked to keep an eye on a mansion for three weeks. And being Aunt Peggy she cannot see why she should not make a little extra money on it herself and do some bed and breakfast in posh surroundings. Her first customer is a very surprised Alf Ventress. He had outstayed his welcome at the Aidensfield Arms - and one of the cells at the police station - and was asked to move out by Sergeant Nokes, who is filling in for Sergeant Miller. Alice Howarth asks Nurse Cassidy to look after her mother Edna who is so old it is not safe for her to be living alone anymore. But Carol is surprised to discover that the old lady is not so alone after all. Her son - Alice's brother - has returned to the area and visits her every night. Only he committed suicide twenty years ago. Dawn finds an old sewing machine and soon the only thing on her mind is sewing. Full Summary A lorry driver is savagely attacked and his lorry stolen by two men when he pulls over at the roadside to help a breakdown. PC Joe Mason arrives at the scene and Nurse Carol Cassidy tells him that the unidentified driver has a possible fractured skull caused by several blows to the head. Later, Joe and PC Don Wetherby find the driver’s abandoned, empty lorry in a back lane, and pay a visit to Hardcastle Butchers. There they learn that the driver is Norman, and he was transporting condemned meat to the incinerator. Fearing they now have a serious health risk to contend with, Joe and Don report their findings back at the station. Sergeant Nokes arrives at Ashfordly Police Station and immediately takes over leading the case to find Norman’s attackers and issue a warning about the condemned meat to all the restaurants, pubs and hotels in the area. Nokes, who has a reputation as a ruthless man-eater, takes a shine to PC Geoff Younger and orders him to stay by her side during her part of the investigation. Peggy Armstrong and David Stockwell are asked by Mrs Grant to house-sit her country mansion whilst she is away. Peggy accepts Mrs Grant’s offer and decides to set up her own make-shift boarding house to earn a few extra bob on the side. Peggy’s first guest is Alf Ventress, who needs a new place to stay after being caught sleeping in a prison cell at the station by Sergeant Nokes. Alf is surprised to see Peggy running a boarding house in someone else’s home, but agrees to stay when Peggy offers him free drinks and a steak dinner. Peggy welcomes more guests the next day, and when Gina refuses to provide food for her guests, Peggy accepts cut price meat off the back of a lorry. Alf realises the meat is the rotten meat the Police warned of and tells the other guests not to eat it. Peggy is arrested for handling stolen goods and questioned by Nokes back at the station about where she got it. Alf and the other guests head to the Aidensfield Arms for dinner and board, and poor Peggy is forced to fit their bill as compensation. Meanwhile, Alice Howarth approaches Carol and asks her to check on her elderly mother, Edna, who she feels might be going senile. Edna has been telling Alice about being visited by her son, Alice’s brother who was died 20 years ago. Carol visits Edna and believes her to be bright as a button, and starts to wonder if a mystery man posing as Edna’s son is making the visits. When Edna becomes ill with salmonella poisoning after eating some meat, Carol’s suspicions are confirmed. Joe concludes the same man is linked to the stolen lorry and to several burglaries that have happened in the area. Joe forms a plan to catch the man – he is wrapped in blankets and taken from the back of an ambulance into Edna’s home so anyone observing would think it was Edna returning home. The plan works, and the man, called Steve, arrives at the house to check on his elderly friend. At the station, Steve is devastated when he realises the meat he fed Edna was condemned. He admits his part in the robbery and agrees to take the police to his accomplice, Terry, who is continuing to sell the meat. The Police race to the market in a bid to arrest Terry before any more people are made ill, but will they catch him in time… Regular Cast PC Joe Mason Joe McFadden Carol Cassidy Lisa Kay David Stockwell David Lonsdale Peggy Armstrong Gwen Taylor PC Don Wetherby Rupert Ward-Lewis PC Geoff Younger Steve Blakeley Alf Ventress William Simons Oscar Blaketon Derek Fowlds Dawn Bellamy Nikki Sanderson Gina Bellamy Tricia Penrose Bernie Scripps Peter Benson Guest Stars Norman Peter Toon Terry Steven Hillman Steve Ben Elliot Mrs Grant Janice McKenzie Edna Freda Dowie Sgt. Nokes Georgie Glen Alice Howarth Marie Critchley Hardcastle Lorenzo Martelli Cast Category:Series Eighteen Category:Episodes